A joint effort by Microsoft and 3M is underway to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) data centre infrastructure, enterprise technologies, and research and development (R&D) partnership, which is part of the chemical and cable manufacturer’s commitment to bringing electronic components to the market to meet growing demand for these services.
Microsoft’s large-scale cloud computing platform Azure will deploy 3M’s expanded beam optical (EBO) cable connector system at its data centers, while 3M will leverage Microsoft’s AI and digital platforms across its operations to simplify its processes and improve decision-making, customer experience, and employee productivity.
Microsoft and 3M are also part of an alliance of 44 members focused on advancing an open, interoperable specification for EBO connectivity products in the AI end-market called Expanded Beam Optics Multi-Source Agreement Group. 3M is investing heavily in expanding its EBO manufacturing capacity.
“[The EBO is] sort of like an easy click between two pieces of multi-fiber device [peripherals] that come together,” 3M CEO Bill Brown said during a first quarter earnings call in April. “We can put that together in 80 percent less time with a less trained technician; better reliability, can operate in a dusty environment, which is why it’s gotten some good take rate. We’ve had at least a validation by at least one hyperscaler, a second one is in testing. I expect that will be positive as well.”
The goal of the partnership is to accelerate AI adoption and improve the physical networks required for its operation, including fiber-optic and coaxial cables that support cloud and AI workloads.
The partnership will continue to grow through collaboration and R&D and comes at a critical time as Microsoft is expanding its global data centre footprint. It currently operates over 400 data centres around the world.
“At Microsoft, we’re redefining the foundation of cloud and AI infrastructure—combining our own innovations with advances from partners like 3M to build datacenters that are faster to deploy, more resilient and ready for the scale of AI,” Cliff Henson, Corporate Vice President of Cloud Supply Chain and Engineering at Microsoft, said in a statement.
